About Me

My photo
I am currently employed at Hertford Regional College as a Media Lecturer.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Part 5a: Ethics that might apply in my place of work/ professional community

I have been brainstorming the codes of practice/ regulations that may apply within my place of work/ professional community, relying solely on my own thoughts.

I have come to realize what codes of practice/ regulations I use naturally, having worked in my field for several years.



Within the Media:

The first code of practice that I brainstormed was that you cannot film anyone without their permission. If filming a documentary for example, it is essential that permission forms are to hand for anyone being interviewed can fill them out. These forms should outline how the finished product is being distributed/ published and also what the finished product is going to be about. You should always make sure that both parties involved (the person/ people being filmed and the producer of the production) has a copy of the form.
     If you are filming in a public place, you should always make passers by aware that there is filming going on and try your utmost hardest to get anyone in shot to sign a permission form. If this does not occur, you will need to hide the identity of the public member in post production, which would be fine in a documentary, however if filming a piece of drama, this will affect the whole dynamic of the production, therefore permission is essential.

There will more than likely be a whole book on the legislation when it comes to filming children. I feel that unless it is absolutely necessary try to refrain from filming them. A child is not able to sign their own permission form so if it is essential for a child to be filmed, the parents would have to sign the permission form. It is not a good idea to film a group of children without any permission. I would also advise checking any laws there may be about exploiting children...

When filming in public places, I always find myself contacting local councils to gain permission to film in the locations required. I feel that this is always a good idea as members of the public are likely to complain about the production. You can also obtain the relevant health and safety risk assessments as well as know what kind of insurance you will be required to have for filming in these locations. PERMISSION IS ALWAYS BENEFICIAL TO THE EFFICIENCY OF THE SHOOT!

Plagiarism will always play a huge part within the Media. If I am making a production, I always make sure that I have the rights to any un-original soundtracks that I may use. This is the same for using any archive footage.

Using artificial weapons for productions in an un-conrolled environment such as public place can always be quite tricky. My feeling is that there may be some kind of license required to do such a thing. I also think that it is a good idea to alert the authorities as well as alert the local council with what you are planning to do. Maybe even put a notification to the public in some way alerting them that the weapons are fake and being used for production purposes.



Within my current job role at Hertford Regional College:

I am currently working as a Media Technician at Hertford Regional College.

Safeguarding has to be the first regulation/ code of practice I though of when brainstorming my ideas for this part of Module 2. It is one of my biggest duties making sure that the welfare of the students comes first. On safeguarding training, which the college provides, we are taught how to recognize whether a student is at risk, whether it is at home or at college.

Equality and diversity is another huge factor when working at the college. It is essential that any student has equal rights, including students with learning difficulties. In my mind it is the most amazing feeling making sure that someone with a learning difficulty succeeds to the same standard as someone who doesn't. It is essential that the correct facilities are available for these students.
     Working at the college we make sure that every student is celebrated, regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation or their different abilities.

In my job role at the college there are several aspects to my work that I have had to have specific training on. These are:
  • Working at height: There are some occasions that I have to use a ladder to do certain jobs, such as changing bulbs in a lighting rig.
  • Manual Handling: I have undergone manual handling training as I have to lift heavy equipment on a daily basis.
  •  Tallescope Training: There are some occasions where I help out with theater work within the college, therefore, if I am changing bulbs in the theater lighting rig I will have to use a Teallescope (vertical ladder that is 7 meters high)

After brainstorming all of my ideas about codes of practice/ regulations withing my fields of work I feel that there is more than likely going to be a lot more. I have several amounts of paperwork given to me by HRC that will help back up and add to my findings in Task 5b.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Part 4c: Developing my questions

I have been looking at my questions over the last week, trying to see what I could do to develop them.

I have now come to the conclusion that I need more answers from my current questions in order to develop them further.

I have handed the questions to several people within my work place (of relevance to my field) and hope to find answers over the coming days.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Part 4b: Special Interest Group (an invitation)

I am currently trying to build my SIG.

I have thought of several ways to do this and have decided to create a separate Facebook account so that I can build a community and confine the content so that it is easier to look back on.

I will also be using my Blog for the SIG.

I am looking forward to learning new things from others and in return I hope people learn new things from me. :D

Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/daniel.day1989?ref=tn_tnmn


Campus Session 1: 9th October 2012

I am glad I attended this campus session, I was beginning to feel lost within the work that is required, and this session cleared up some problems I had with the whole questioning process of the Module.

In the session we paired up and had to come up with some questions regarding asking the correct questions.

Here are some of the notes that I took from the session, including some that I picked up from listening to others in the group:


Why are you asking the question?

Do Experiences dictate the questions you ask?

What is my intention for asking the question? (Intentive Questioning)

What is the relevance of the question you are asking?

Are you asking the question in the correct context to gain the correct information?

How many questions will you have to ask before you get the information you need?

Consider your resources before asking your questions.

Can you expand your questions out of your safety zone?

Who can enhance your knowledge?

Has somebody already answered the question? (if they have, how can you answer it differently?)



These notes have helped me with my inquiry, so hopefully they will be useful to others. :D








Monday, October 8, 2012

Part 4a: Questions Relevant to my practice

I have been working hard to find a way to ask questions that are relevant to my practice. In the end, I needed to make two categories for my questions as they are based on two different topics, although somewhat connected in the way the questions could be thought about...


Skills Based Questions

What does the organization you work for do to help/ make sure your skills are developed to a sufficient standard for your job role but also make the skills personally beneficial?


How relevant are your competencies in your current job role, compared to a different role within your field of work? (e.g. working as a Media Technician compared to being a Media Lecturer)


Do any of your skills get used to help develop the skills of others?


Are there any skills in your skill set that have to be updated/ re-evaluated on a regular basis? (This question could relate to compulsory training within an organization you currently/ previously/ aspire to work for)


Are there any specific tools needed to develop your skills further?


How much or a role do facilities play in your skills development?




Media Based Questions

How do you know which sector of the Media industry you would like to work in?


How easy is it to get a job within the Media industry?


Within film and T.V, if there are no jobs, what is the best way to keep your aspirations alive and not fall into a job that you don't want?


Is there only one job role within Media that can be undertaken or is it possible to do more than one role?


Can I use my Media skills to get into a field of work that is completely different?


A Question that I have been asking myself on a regular basis lately...


Why do I want to teach Media, rather than stay in a Technical Media role?



I am going to take these questions to several people I know within the college I work, and find out their own personal answers. It would be great if you could answer these questions, even if you are not Media based, the Media questions may be relevant in your field of work. It would be great to see a comparison between different skill bases.




Sunday, October 7, 2012

Some quotes that have helped me so far from "The Fifth Discipline" by "Peter M. Senge"

I only received this book on Friday, so I have only read a little, but what I have read has helped me greatly in deciding my questions for the beginning of my "Inquiry".

I have decided to post some of the quotes that got me thinking and hopefully these will also give others some inspiration.


"It is no longer sufficient to have one person learning for the organization... It's just not possible any longer to "figure it out" from the top, and have everyone else following orders from the "grand strategist". The organizations that will truly excel in the future will be the organizations that discover how to tap people's commitment and capacity to learn at all levels in an organization.

The team that became great didn't start off great- it learned how to produce extraordinary results." 
Page 4

This quote got me thinking about the organization I work for and how it allows me to develop my skills in order to benefit the "company" as well as myself. I also realized how I learn from my peers and how I help them to develop their skills.

When working side by side with my manager, it is also a great eye opener to how we work, relying on each others' skill set to get a job done and how important everybody's role within the establishment is.


"Systems Thinking. A cloud masses, the sky darkens, leaves twist upward, and we know that it will rain. We also know that after the storm, the runoff will feed into groundwater miles away, and the sky will grow clear by tomorrow. All these events are distant in time and space, yet they are all connected within the same pattern. Each has an influence on the rest, an influence that is usually hidden from view. You can only understand the system of a rainstorm by contemplating the whole, not any individual part of the pattern"
Page 6/7
I felt that this quote was a great metaphor for realizing the skills we already have. From this quote I took that if we realize the extent of our current knowledge we will know how to develop out skills further.


"Personal Mastery. People with a high level of personal mastery are able to consistently realize the results that matter most deeply to them- in effect they approach their life as an artist would approach a work of art. They do that by becoming committed to their own lifelong learning.
  Personal mastery is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively.

The discipline of personal mastery, by contrast, starts with clarifying the things that really matter to us, of living our lives in the service of our highest aspirations."
Page 7/8

The whole section on "Personal Mastery" touches on the quote "Systems Thinking", giving a clearer detail into the fact that realizing the skills we already have will allow us to see the skills we need to develop, however, I feel this quote is more related to realizing what we actually want to achieve, rather than what skills are needed to develop within our practice.

I hope these quotes are helpful to others, I will post some more as I read further.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Is hectic really that good?

Today is just like any other Friday, the usual working day starts at 9am, I make sure every lecturer has everything they need for their classes, make sure the students are happy with what they are doing and see if they need any assistance... There is one difference though...

I actually have some time, during working hours to do some uni work! It seems as though I have managed to make further progress doing coursework during a time where I should be doing my "job" than when I have peace and quiet at home.

I have now come to the conclusion that I need a hectic environment to allow me to focus... Maybe peace and quite is more distracting? For instance yesterday, I was helping a lecturer with something technical when all of a sudden... BAM, I had some questions flooding through my brain that gave me a deeper insight into how I want to do my Inquiry...

As you can see from my photo, I have purchased some extra reading material, as recommended in "Reader 4"... I will continue to blog any information that I found useful and that I feel will benefit others.

I hope I have a hectic weekend!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Back to work: First impressions of Module 2

After having a few months away from doing any uni work, I thought it would be difficult to slip back into the mindset and be enthusiastic about getting started.

I downloaded all three readers for the entire Module and the program handbook and began to read through what is expected. After reading Reader 4: "Developing lines of Professional Inquiry" my enthusiasm kicked in.

I have struggled with the past work that I have completed whilst on BAPP, just because I found it difficult to be able to put all of my media knowledge across in a way that would relate to the course and also be made interesting to others reading my blog posts.

This Module is exciting, there is so much going through my mind after reading the reader, there are so many "topics" I could use in order to create an interesting and dynamic inquiry.

I am going to give this some thought over the next couple of days, brainstorm some ideas and do some extra reading so that I can make the most out of the inquiry.

I am hoping to make the transition form Media Technician to full time Media Lecturer in the coming months, something that I have been working to achieve for some time now... this could play a major part in my work.